Engines may utilize recirculation of exhaust gas from an exhaust passage to an intake manifold, a process referred to as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), to reduce regulated emissions. In one approach, one or more cylinders are dedicated to generating EGR gas that is delivered to the intake manifold for combustion. These cylinders may be referred to as donor cylinders. Correspondingly, one or more other cylinders are dedicated to generating exhaust gas that is delivered to an exhaust pipe for a turbocharger and after-treatment. These cylinders may be referred to as non-donor cylinders. One benefit of utilizing a donor cylinder EGR system is exhaust backpressure that is created from routing EGR gas to the intake manifold may be limited to only the donor cylinders, while the remaining non-donor cylinders operate with a relatively lower exhaust backpressure. Accordingly, the non-donor cylinders can operate at more efficient exhaust pressure levels relative to an EGR system in which all cylinders contribute EGR gas.